An automotive airbag restraint system typically includes a reaction canister which houses at least part of an inflatable airbag and an airbag inflator for deploying the airbag from the canister into the passenger compartment of the vehicle through an opening in the canister. The canister, airbag, and inflator are normally attached as a unit to the retainer structure of the vehicle's instrument panel or dashboard assembly. To mount the unit in such manner, the canister is usually formed with a mounting flange that extends about the deployment opening of the canister and is secured by numerous fasteners to the retainer structure of the instrument panel.
The numerous fasteners make the installation of such an airbag unit a very labor intensive process. Further, the integrity of the mount depends, to a large degree, on the integrity of the retainer. Damage that may occur to the instrument panel in a collision could affect the support it provides to the unit and hence may negatively impact its performance.
One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a means of securing the airbag canister to support structure of the vehicle other than the instrument panel and in such a way that simplifies the installation of the canister.